The Springtime Fair Event!

[megabond]

WHO: Everyone!
WHERE: Recolle Square
WHEN: May 20-21
WHAT: The Springtime Fair!
WARNINGS: None, but PM if this needs to change

Springtime Fair Begins! The Booths and Rides! (May 20-21)

As Spring continues blossoming around the city, Recolle Square becomes very crowded for some reason; that reason being the annual Springtime Fair!

As most of the residents enter Recolle Square, they notice many kinds of booths and rides scattered around the park as volunteers and booth owners set up to start the fair. And since the theme for this year is the American Style Cultural Festival, they see many classic rides such as the Tilt-A-Whirl, Merry-Go-Around (with Chocobos instead of horses, obviously), the Ferris Wheel, and much more. Not to mention the carnival games and delicious food lined up in most of the booths as well with booths like "Yamazaki's Paris" and "Satellite's Pizza"!

With all of the booths and rides that the fair has to offer, you have a feeling you will have a great time that Spring has to offer in it's remaining time this year!

The Silent Auction (May 20/Morning)

Due to the Recolle Zoo and Aquarium's Endangered Animal Preservation sponsoring this year's fair, they have a plethora of auctions to you to bid on.

One of the auctions is a silent auction being held on one of the stages in the venue where you can bid on blind gift baskets. The contents of the gift baskets is a mystery, but the announcer did explain what you can get such as a month supply of donuts, some cute plush toys, anything you can think of from the sponsors! However, there is a chance you may get something you actually don't need, so if this happens, feel free to give it to someone who does need it, e.g. when you get a week supply of cat food when you're actually a dog person.

You may be tempted to peek in some of the gift baskets backstage, but where's the fun in that? Don't try to peek if you're not one of the volunteers and organizers or security will kick you out.

The Service Auction (May 20/Afternoon)

At 3:00 PM after the silent auction, most of the residents as well business owners and employees gather in front of the stage as the Service Auction is about to start. Once it does, you see that the tables used for the gift baskets are cleared as the announcer declared the Service Auction as well explaining the rules regarding the bids and the fees are given for their services. If you notice the whiteboard before you take your seat, you can see the list of participants available to bid as well the services they will offer as well the order of their appearance to bid on.

>> Dr. Arataka Reigen (Service: A free homeopathic consultation!)
>> Chloe Bouchard (Service: Yard Work/Gardening, professional level)
>> Rin Matsuoka (Service: One-man Personal Training Bootcamp!!! Get Fit Get Swole 100% On the Grind Etc. Also swimming lessons.)
>> Donald Maxwell (Service: Handyman and delivery services)
>> Terra Mason (Service: Hard, manual labor such as moving your furniture, paint your second-floor bathroom, basically anything! He can also teach you about the civil war, or make you somewhat fancy alcoholic beverages.)
>> Nui (Nadine) Harime (Service: Wardrobe consultation, custom tailoring to make your clothes actually look good on you, and/or sewing for one one-of-a-kind spring fashion item.)
>> Eleanor Lamb (Service: Handyman! Fix your gate, your lawnmower, appliances, electrical junk. Eleanor's good at putting stuff back together. Or...taking it apart, if that's your flavor.)
>> Penelope Raban (Service: Photoshop, Computer Repair, Debugging, or writing a simple program/phone app/etc.)

Judging by the services they offer, you can tell how either useful they be and/or how much fun you will have with them. Just make sure you watch your budget during the auction. Otherwise, you might not able to afford their fees!

Regardless, some of the proceedings (with special conditions from some of the participants) will go to Recolle Zoo and Aquarium's Endangered Animal Preservation, so at least you’d give some help to the cause.

[NOTES: To all of the participants listed above, you are free to decide on the fees as well as who won the bid on your character on your service auction prompts!

To everyone else, don't be afraid to make your top levels about how your character is watching the auction. But if you want your character to bid on your intended participant, make sure you go to their top levels as soon they are posted to bid one of them!]

The Pet Show Preparations (May 21/Noon)

The next day, the stage has been redecorated with bone banners around at the top of it along with some bones and ball props placed around the stage for this year's Pet Show. Not only that, a huge mat has been spread in front of the stage along with a obstacle course for all of the participating small and big pets alike while the audience can watch the events in front of them behind the rope line with several seats lined up for some guests who don't like to stand up all day while watching the show.

If you signed up for the Pet Show, you will spend time in the backstage area before the show, as you not only try to groom your pet for the cameras and the judges outside but try to calm them down before the big event begins. Thankfully, you are allowed to bring anyone with you to help you prepare your little (or big) star, from acquaintances to friends to siblings to other family members.

Let the Pet Show Begin!(May 21/Afternoon)

Once it hits 3:00 PM, the announcer then declares in a showman-like manner, "Welcome one and all to our annual Springtime Pet Show!"

As the show begins, the audience cheers in excitement over seeing some cute and cool pets walking down the obstacle course while the three judges wait to watch and decide on which cat, dog, or another animal will win this year.

Of course, as you are called into the field with your furry friend, you will try to help them out in two rounds. For the first round, you will not only have the chance to show off your pet but to also have them show off their talents or any tricks they learned. For the second round, it's just a standard agility round with the only rule is to pass through the obstacle course as fast they can. However, some parts of the course, such as the tunnel and the teeter board, turn out to be defective for some reason, but that's nothing that your pet can handle, right?

The Mishaps (May 21/During the Pet Show)

Of course, just when you think this pet show will go smoothly, you turn out to be wrong. That because just as the talent portion of the pet show starts, you witness some of the Chocobos run the obstacle course and start wreaking havoc such as pecking on some of the participants and guests' heads, running around the field aimlessly, and of course, causing some of their pets to panic and run away.

As the organizers and volunteers are left shocked and confused by this turn of events, one of the volunteers steps up and explained everything, revealing that the Chocobos were supposed to be for the petting zoo for today's event, but one kid got a little too curious with them and accidentally released them from captivity.

Whatever the case, your only two options are to either run away from the Chocobos or help out the volunteers and organizers round them up before most of the stage and booths are destroyed.

Pet Show Winners (After the Mishaps)

After the chaos has been dealt with, the MC returns to the stage unscathed from any animal hijinks. He is still shaken up by those Chocobos, but the show must go on.

With that, he then opens the envelopes that one of the volunteers gave him and reads it before turning his attention to the audience in order to declare which pet managed to impress the judges and the audience enough to win.

"Now then, third place goes to Zaveid Taleb's tuxedo cat, Fred, second place goes to Hitori Togusa and his white miniature schnauzer, Daisuke!

And now for the first place and winner of this year's Pet Show is..."

With a long drumroll that one of the volunteers is doing (How did he get those drums into the stage in 5 minutes anyway?!), the MC then opens the last envelope and reads the contents.

"Mohammed Hefaz with his budgie, Whitney!"

Once the winners are declared, the audience cheered in excitement for the winners while some of them are a little disappointed that their favorites lost.

As for the participants, they were either are happy or disappointed with the results or cheered their pets up. Still, there's always next year!

[NOTES: Just a reminder of the pet show prizes in case you didn't read the replies:

1st Place: $200 gift card to The Towers, $100 gift card to a known pet food brand, and two tickets to Recolle Zoo and Aquarium
2nd Place: $50 gift card to a known pet food brand, 3 new cat or dog toys
3rd Place: 10% discount to selected pizzas from Satellite's Pizza or Yamazaki's Paris.]

Aftermath (May 21/Evening)

Well, other than a little Chocobo mess back there, this year's Springtime Fair ended off with a bang. With most of the guests start to reflect yesterday and today's events, most of them help out the organizers, volunteers, and booth owners on cleaning and packing up everything.

But despite the chaos that has happened earlier, the organizers and volunteers are happy to hear that raised quite a lot of money for the Animal Preservation Program from the auctions and some of the booths, which can be a happy ending to this crazy weekend.

But no matter how you experienced the fair, at least you have fun, right?

With that, thank you for coming and we'll hope to see you in the next Springtime Fair!

Comments

Chloe - OTA

[true_noir]

Rides/Events
Chloe made it a point to go from ride to ride, wanting to try them all. Added to that was the urge to visit at least a few of the skill booths. It was probably cheating not to tell the barkers at some of these that her dart throwing skills might have improved considerably. However, she was not above keeping that bit of information to herself if it let her net a stuffed animal to give to someone else... so long as she didn't have to be the one to carry it home.

If she saw any of her friends, she would run over to grab at their arm, looking almost childlike in glee. No, today, she was not going to worry about Retrospec, nor about anything else. Today, she simply wanted to have fun.

Catch That Chocobo!
Chloe had already played Chocobo wrangler once in her life, so why not attempt it again? In truth, she wasn't planning on catching the poor thing but more helping to serve as a distraction to help herd it away from the booths, where other people could bring it under control. Racing into public spaces, she waved her hands and made a frightful noise while still managing to laugh.

"This is far too much fun. I really should not be enjoying this, should I?" she said, glancing at her helper. Sorry, folks, but frightened chocobos were hilarious... when they weren't barreling into you or trying to peck your face off.

Aftermath
Someone had to clean this mess up. And, since she'd already volunteered to help out as part of the service auction, Chloe figured she might as well help with the taking down of booths and the like. She was easy to find throughout the event's aftermath, quietly picking up trash with a pointed stick and shoving it into garbage bags.

Looking up from one of her latest jabs, she smiled at whoever might be approaching and motioned with her head towards another bag nearby. "They say many hands make light work, yes?"

Service Auction (OOC: First come first served)
Chloe looked over at the person who had paid for her services as a gardener and smiled. "Well well, I do hope I'll be able to help you with your garden. Do, please tell me what you have planned." In reality, she was mostly looking to do this as a way to keep Enchanted Blossom's name out there in the off season, but regardless, it would be nice to take some time, do a little charity service and keep padding her resume.

(OOC: If you wish, it is possible to fast-forward to the next couple days and do a scene with her doing gardening/floral work at someone's house. That, or just chat here. I'm easy going on this.)

Aftermath

[bold_in_deed]

"...there's a joke about hands in there somewhere, but I'm too pecked to death to think of any."

Bloody chocobos.

Picking up garbage is not Ilia's idea of a fun time. She'd rather go home. But then to do what? Just sit on her couch and binge on whatever show she can find on Netflix? ...okay that actually sounds nice. But, Ilia's not that much of a jerk to refuse to help, especially without a legitimate excuse.

"There should have been combat pay for the volunteers after that fiasco with the chocobos," she mutters as she grabs the bag, scooping up some nearby garbage and shoveling it into her bag.

chocobo wranglin'

[skald]

Tuuri wasn't going to lie, it was sort of fun making loud noises to scare the chocobo back into the center... except there's something about staring down a rampaging chicken beast that made her feel like she was always one wrong step away from getting pecked to death. That fear was sort of detracting from how effective she could really be at this job.

"Ahaha, well, it's definitely entertaining..." she said, spreading her arms wide and making a cawing noise-- but even as the chocobo in question veered off to the side to avoid her, its beady eye stared into hers, and that nervous doubt-- what if it doesn't stop-- entered her mind again. Her caw turned into more of a scream by the end, especially with the way she flinched and ducked behind her arm... having her 'help' may be worse than working alone.

Rides/Events

[trivialization]

Between the frequently serious topics of their discussions and her own dour unlikelihood of inspiring any such reaction 'childlike glee' was not an expression Catherine was used to seeing on Chloe, and she looked taken aback when the girl grabbed her arm, face working its way through honest surprise to what looked like the beginning of a trite dismissal before she thought better of it and moved on to a slightly guarded curiosity.

"...I take it you're enjoying yourself?"

She was probably not the sort of person one would take to be interested in a stuffed animal, but one never knew.

[frilly]

May 20th Afternoon: Wandering

[ Madoka loves celebrations. It's just nice to see people out and about. Even when she doesn't go on rides or play games or even get fair food, it's nice to people-watch! (And she plans to get to all those things in time.)

But a new girl is a new girl and Madoka is shy. Even enjoying herself looking around, she does look a little bit... Down. Or maybe just nervous in the crowds.

She seems bubbly enough when she's looking around or snapping photos with her cell phone, but she does eventually step to the side of the foot-traffic. Her smile slips into a small frown. ]

Maybe it was a mistake to come here alone...

May 20th or 21st Afternoon: Wildcard/s?

[ Have you managed to make plans with Madoka? Bumped into her and decided to hang out but don't want to play that out? A-okay. They're at the fair together now!! Who cares why!! She's chatty and excitable and wants to:

- watch the pet show!! They are all so cute!! Nothing can go wrong!!
- get fair food!! But she is indecisive and everything looks so good, she has been trying to decide for like ten minutes now.
- play games! She is determined to win a prize for her little brother and will not take loss for an answer. (She also wants something for herself, but will not admit it. Also she is very bad at games.)
- ride the ferris wheel!! That's it. Everything else is too scary. TOO SCARY! ]

May 21st Evening: Sunset

[ All the energy of the last few days is puttering out, and it shows. Madoka is enjoying the sunset, and all of the ride-lights and cute stand decorations. She's seated on the edge of a sidewalk to keep out of the way of people coming and going, sometimes idly rubbing at her sore ankles and shifting her tired feet around.

As usual, she is also intermittently taking pictures on her phone. ]

Hehe. I think the only thing that could have made this better would be fireworks.

Wandering

[true_noir]

[Chloe emerged out of the crowd, seeking a bit of solace from their numbers as well. She was, however, in a better mood by far than she'd been in a while. This was a pleasant experience for her, and one that she could embroil herself in a little, so that she didn't think about some of the problems lately.

For a couple days, she wanted to have a pleasant time. Catching sight of the young girl, she happened over and waved.]

Are you looking for someone by chance?

[Madoka looked almost familiar. Had she maybe seen her in an icon on the app somewhere? Or did she just look like others?]

wandering!

[covenantal]

[ Though he didn't make plans with any friends to come by, some impulse brings him here anyway; maybe just wanting to people watch, maybe just wanting fresh air. He's been slipping into bad old habits of spending more time to himself, lately; he tries to insist in his mind that this isn't about that, but the guilty twist in his gut is a constant reminder otherwise.

So it's maybe for the best that he finds himself slowing when something vaguely familiar catches his eye. He almost doesn't realize what - or rather, who it is, because they've only spoken once. But a moment to stop and blink at her makes him recall the profile picture that had been attached to her words. Worse, she seems ... well, that's not a good look on her face. ]

Madoka-san?

[ Almost despite himself Yu will approach, a careful smile on his face. He can't help the faint, concerned crease in his brow. ]

That is you, isn't it?

wildcard

[buncho]

Madokaaaaaa!

[ Mafuyu shouts over the heads of the crowd, jumping with her arms in the air where she'd pushed her way through to the front of one of the shooting booths: shooting targets with an air rifle, but also in competition between 2-5 players, so of course Mafuyu's going to enlist Madoka who is very bad at games in order to pad one of the spots. It's a system. ]

Over here! They've got water pistols as prizes over here! Come play with me and you choose the next game!

Wandering

[fashionable_yapping]

[Nina'd been wandering while munching on some cotton candy, ignoring most of the crowd. But the frowning girl standing apart from the path had attracted her notice, and she'd overheard what Madoka'd said. Well, well, looks like she needs a friendly face. Time to make a good impression and look good.

The French girl walks over with that ulterior motive.]

Hello. We might be strangers, but want to walk with me? I don't have company either.

[prometheanflame]

I. Downtime, May 20

[Everyone is coming to the fair. Mohammed, his workers, his housemates. His first reaction was excitement that the city square would be full of people, followed immediately with the realization that they would be leaving Iggy alone at home for an entire weekend. The risk of returning to torn up couches and chewed shoes was too great to ignore. He had brought up the issue to the others, but none wanted to be the primary caretaker of the devil dog. No, he's the one who adopted the Boston Terrier, so he has to watch over him.

A compromise was made: Mohammed stays with him on the 20th, and on the 21st, the leash is passed around while he prepares Whitney for the pet show. Convincing Iggy to get into the harness was the difficult part, but as long as Mohammed doesn't tug too hard and feeds him regularly, he behaves. Normally. It honestly isn't that hard to be nice to animals.

Throughout Saturday, Mohammed is found exploring each booth, gripping a purple leash connected to proof that ugly dogs exist. Once in a while, after leaving a conversation, he hands Iggy a small treat, a reward for behaving. He tosses bits of meat throughout the day and even buys a sausage for the dog in the afternoon. Iggy scarfs it down with a happy bark.

Good dog.

Or not-good dog, if Mohammed is distracted by a display or a friend. Iggy gets bored of all these stupid people and not being able to go wherever he wants. Did you drop your ice cream? Your wallet? Is your shoe unfortunately close to him? Congratulations, its covered in dog slobber.]

II. Pet Show Preparation (Before and intermission), May 21

Are you feeling okay, Whitney? Need another apple? [Inside the contestant's tent, Mohammed crouches beside the white wired caged filled with branches and Whitney's personal hideaway box. She's always been the friendliest of his birds, and the easy choice to enter into the contest. He's already revealed that he owns budgies to at least two other Retrospec Users, so what's the point in avoiding this contest? He may not win, but he sure can show off how great his little birds are.

Whitney, yellow with black markings, clicks at him.]

We're going out in a while, okay? [He talks to her as if she were a child, not a baby bird. Budgies are kind animals that need stern guidance.] Do your best.

III. The Show

[Among the usual cats and dogs in the show (and a lizard?), Mohammed walks onto the stage with a small budgie on his finger. A raised table is prepared for them with a perch and various toys prepared for them.]

Good afternoon, everyone. [He stands up straight, forcing himself into the image of confidence.] I'd like all of you to meet Whitney. She's one year old and excited to meet all of you.

[He moves his finger by the perch, and Whitney (after staring at the audience for a few moments) hops off. The camera focuses on her head, which has been smoothed out, as she looks into the lens with a big black eye.]

I taught her a few tricks since I first got her. [And thus begins the first round of the show.

The second round goes off less smoothly. The judges have prepared a Whitney-sized obstacle race with the tunnel replaced by a cardboard tube. Whitney loves cardboard tubes. She loves chewing on them. Instead of walking through, she pauses and bites into the edge.]

Whitney. [He whispers, tapping the table. There are snacks inside the tube, go inside Whitney, what are you doing.]

IV. And the Winner Is...

...What? [He hadn't been expecting this. Yes, Whitney is a great bird, Mohammed is a great owner, but it's still a surprise. A wonderful, welcome surprise, and he rushes to the stage to accept the envelope of gift cards and tickets. He smiles at the crowd, which must be exhausted and ready to go home by now.

The feeling of elation is gone once the onlookers are gone and the journalists have taken their last photos. Mohammed stands at the back of the stage, leafing through his rewards. The gift card is appreciated, he could always add more to his wardrobe, and free pet food is welcome at a house where five animals live.

Five. Since when did he become such an animal lover?

He gives pause at the tickets to the Zoo and Aquarium. He's not that crazy about animals, but it would be worth going with someone who would appreciate it. The question is who? A coworker would be awkward, he can't ask an older adult or one of the teens he knows. There are plenty of acquaintances, but they aren't exactly...friends.

It would be easier if he had someone particular in mind, but he draws a blank. How many people would he say he's close to?]

II

[beastenderblood]

[If there's one thing Vella appreciates, its birds. She's pretty normally content to punch her way through most situations, but when there's a bird you gotta stop and admire it.]

That's a damn fine bird.

[She probably shouldn't be in this tent, but look. Birds.]

1

[true_noir]

[Blink blink.

That was definitely doggy drool there on her foot. Chloe looked down in surprise at the culprit and made a small sound before stepping to the side and looking at Iggy curiously. A look at the leash from the pooch up to its owner pinned down Muhammed and she allowed herself a small chuckle into her hand before clearing her throat to get his attention.]

Muhammed? Is that you? And would this be the famous Iggy... looking himself?

iv

[buncho]

[ ...What? How did a bird win against that kick-ass dragon?! After the crowd disperses and goes back to any last minute game or food booths for the day, Mafuyu seeks Mohammed out and storms up to him. ]

Hey! It's Whitney, right? How'd you train her? How come she doesn't fly off? She's a bird!

[ Birds belong in the sky or in trees? Mafuyu's never really encountered a pet bird before, it's bizarre. ]

I

[godcards]

Hey! Watch your stupid dog. [ And with that, Malik is jerking is now-drooly foot away.

To Iggy's credit, Malik was up to no good with those sticky fingers of his, and the slobber caused enough distraction that he gives up his petty attempt at lifting someone's wallet-- which, oh well, they ended up walking away by the time Malik started fussing over this admittedly very ugly dog. ]

Ilia Trevelyan | OTA

[bold_in_deed]

A. Rides

This is all rather interesting for Ilia, who's never been to a fair like this. She heard that the American ones are quite different, but even she's taken aback a bit by everything. It's so noisy. Not that the ones in the UK weren't, but this is to a whole different scale.

Of course, that's likely because of all the rides and these booths.

Some of them are familiar from theme parks back in Britain, others are totally new. In particular, she's staring in wonder at the Tilt-a-Whirl. The concept doesn't boggle her, she's just simply never seen it before. And it's strange to see it outside of a proper park.

"Now there's a good way to lose your lunch." But she kind of wants to try it, if she's being honest...

B. Food Booths

Okay, this is slightly more familiar territory. No such thing as a fair without food somewhere. And this country has its own idea of carnival grub, which Ilia is learning about.

Currently, she's got a paper plate full of what she's been told is a "funnel cake". She's skeptical, as this looks nothing like an actual cake. The strange concoction is still steaming with heat, so she's trying to let it cool.

"I fail to see how this is a cake, or what it has to do with a funnel," she says dryly. "But the proprietors seemed shocked when I'd never had it, so they encouraged me to try one. Is it really any good?"

C. Pet Show Mishap

Well, it wouldn't be a day in this city without something going wrong.

Ilia had just come to admire all the pets and be secretly really jealous, but that goes down the drain as soon as the first of the marauding chocobos barges in and starts pecking people.

Naturally, she's near where the invasion is, and despite trying to get away, one manages to set its sights on her and trots after her.

"Oh no no, you get back. Just because you're cute doesn't mean I'll let you peck one me, you daft bird."

The chocobo "kwehs" and moves towards her again. Ilia keeps backing up, but the bird catches up to her and goes to peck at her head.

She swears at the bird, flailing her arms to get it to beat a retreat. When it persists, she resorts to Plan B: she smacks it on the beak. The bird's taken aback, ruffling its feathers in agitation.

Come help before she ends up picking a fight with a huge bird?

D. Post-Pet Show/Aftermath

With that debacle over, Ilia distances herself from the fair proper and sits down on a bench, nursing a few peck wounds. Nothing serious, so she's not bothering with a doctor or even slapping on band aids.

Instead, she pulls out the coin she got in the mail last month and turns it over in her hands. No matter what she's done, no memory-hallucination has been triggered. A part of her is starting to think that Retrospec is just trolling her. But she... feels something when she holds it. Not enough to pin down the emotion, but it's there.

There is one thing she hasn't tried, but that requires another person's help. She spots someone nearby, whether they're sitting near her or walking by, and asks, "Hey, this is going to sound weird, but can you do me a favor?" She holds up the coin. "Got this in the mail from Retrospec. Can you take it for a second, and then hand it back to me?"

B!

[flowrite]

There's a tall, skinny blond nearby holding a similar paper plate, the fingers of his free hand covered in powdered sugar from his own funnel cake. Which is already mostly devoured.

He knows she's not actually talking to him, but he can't quite help but offer his two cents. It's harmless anyway, and anything he can do to extol the virtues of funnel cakes! "Ah, you've never had a funnel cake? They're fantastic!" His accent is faint, from years of living in Recolle, but still distinctly French. He grins--thankfully the sugar has stayed confined to his fingers and isn't all over his face. "They're very good with strawberries on top, but plain powdered sugar is the best. If you like sweets you'll definitely like it!"

[sivard]

Pet Show Preparations
[Whenever Zaveid has the chance, he loves to show off his cats. But not ever cat seems to love the spotlight; that’s fine, really. Whatever his cats like, he’ll deal with. That’s why he’s brought Fred the tuxedo cat along, who seems to enjoy people-watching from his carrier as much as Zaveid is enjoying setting up the little cat tree, making what looks like the tiniest obstacle course.

…He spoils his cats, okay. It’s kind of ridiculous. As it is, he looks pretty busy setting up, but eventually Fred will start meowing for attention from any passer-bye who comes remotely near to take a look at the preparations. Anyone who decides to come in for a closer look will hear the loud, rumbling purring emanating from the carrier. A bit later on, Zaveid can be found letting Fred “help” him set up. Any fellow participant will get a very jovial Zaveid wishing them up. Any spectator will get a wave, and potentially a cat begging for attention.]

The Mishap
[You know what Zaveid hadn’t been expecting? Giant birds barreling towards him. All Fred needs is one look at the Chocobos to yowl in terror and take off, to who knows where.]

Whoa, Fred! Come back!

[A loud wark sounds from behind him, and Zaveid has to roll out of the way as a particularly fluffy looking Chocobo rushes past him, apparently interested in either sniffing at, or pecking, the terrified cat.

He turns to whoever is nearest.]

A little help?!

The Aftermath
[After everything has settled, and poor Fred is safely back in his carrier after an incident that was… uh, well. Interesting, to say the least, Zaveid looks in good spirits. His cat has finally settled down, has come in third place, and you know what? That’s awesome, as far as Zaveid is concerned; the fact that his cat placed at all is a happy surprise.

His friends—and fellow participants—will get Zaveid approaching them after the show, with a couple of boxes of pizza under his arms.]

Want a slice?

Aftermath

[prometheanflame]

[Whitney is back inside her cage, the blanket covers it in relaxing darkness, and Mohammed is ready to go home. A lot has happened in the past several hours, and he needs some sleep before he can think about who to invite to the zoo and aquarium. The sudden smell of warm pizza distracts him from his plans.]

Oh, thanks. What kind?

[standalonehuman]

Pet Show - Before the Competition

Togusa is for once not working one of these events, so he's been able to enter Daisuke in the pet competition. Before the competition starts, Togusa is letting Daisuke run around some, and he has to look over the other pets. He is also looking especially for Prompto and Rufus so he can wish them good luck.

Let's see. Kitty. More dogs. Bird. Dragon.

Wait. Back up.

Togusa is absolutely gawking at the Garchomp. That is a dragon. Why is no one else staring at the dragon? He looks around, and then looks back at the dragon. This has been the latest hit to Togusa's sense of reality just this week.

Pet Competition

Togusa was a little worried that the competition would involve agility. Daisuke has been walking with his gait that appears to limp due to the injury with his front paw. He doesn't have very much strength in that limb, but he has compensated well for it. Togusa is kneeling down, talking to Daisuke quietly.

"You know you dont have to do this if you dont want to. Dont hurt yourself, got it?"

All Togusa gets in return is a quiet 'boof' and he turns to the start of the course.

The two of them start to run the course, and it is clear that Daisuke has become a crowd favorite. The crowd cheers for the little pup as he goes up and down the obstacles. Some of them are just like the steps at home. They get to a bar jump, and Daisuke gives it the dog version of a contemptuous stare. He does the smallest jump that doesn't even come close to the bar, and his leash knocks the bar over. It gets a good round of laughter from the crowd.

They finish up the rest of the course to a round of applause. Togusa scoops him up into his arms to get him off his feet. "Good job!" Have all of the treats, Daisuke.

Before the Competition

[megabond]

Having a fictional creature in a pet show can be a double-edged sword as proven once Modeste notices the police officer in confusion. It wasn't long until Augustine notices Togusa staring at his dragon in shock. Of course, the officer's reaction isn't very surprising to him anymore ever since he got the dragon.

Regardless, he has no choice but to approach the shocked officer as he noticed her still staring at him and his dog. Besides, he doesn't want him disqualified for a scared dog.

"I'm guessing you saw my 'pet', huh... I'm sorry if Modeste is scaring you and your dog."

[notyourutopian]

[A - The Rides]

[Eleanor loved a good thrill ride, and these were...well. Not that. She supposed it was hard to pack a roller coaster up in a truck, but still! At least the tilt-a-whirl was fun sometimes. And she enjoyed the Ferris Wheel. She'd be quite likely to grab people she knew and drag them onto the rides with her! For the fourth time. Or maybe go ride a chocobo with her. That should be hilarious and she will probably fall off.]

[Or get competitive in the carnival games. The rigged ones everyone always loses.]

I bet I can fill the water balloon faster than you. [She joked with whomever she was standing with waiting in line.]

[b - The Mishap]

[Oh great. Stampeding chocobos. Why not? She had scrambled up onto a picnic table when the chocobos first charged, but after a few minutes of standing up there watching the chaos, she was starting to get antsy. She wanted to help, but she wasn't really sure...how...to help. Did chocobos get attracted to colors like bulls? Or loud noises? No that would probably make it worse, she knew horses hated loud noises...]

[She noticed a few of the birds turning in their charge, heading in her direction, and decided to act. What could she lose, right? She hopped off her table and ran over to one of the booths, grabbing a poster off the side and tearing it down with a shouted 'sorry!' before running over to get in the way of the chocobos. If she could maybe get them to turn back towards the pen...but holding the poster wasn't exactly easy with just herself.]

Hey, give me a hand here!

[She called out to someone standing nearby.]

[C - The Aftermath]

[Once the chocobos were finally sorted out and the winners had been announced, Eleanor could be found sitting on a bench, watching everything get cleaned up. She looked pretty disheveled, a vague attempt to fix her hair in the bathroom had accomplished nothing and her pants were torn, but she didn't seem to be injured. And she was going to help clean up! Probably. Maybe. Convince her to come help? Or just come chat with her? Weird day, huh?]

[D - Service Auction] This one is first-come first serve.

[Eleanor had signed up on a whim, really, because she liked the aquarium and people usually needed something around their house fixed. She even put a little not in her section 'I bring my own screwdriver!' which felt silly but made her smile.]

[After everything was over, she could be found waiting for whomever had 'bought' her. That was weird and part of her wanted to come up with a better way to put it. Hired? Still sort of weird. But she waited anyway, offering them a wave and a smile when they arrived.]

Hey! So, what do you need me to fix, hm?

A

[true_noir]

Is that so? Are you so certain?

[She was standing in line right with Eleanor, an impish look in her eyes. Ok, so firing one of these things was nothing like shooting a real gun. It wasn't going to be quite so automatic as all that, but Chloe liked to think she had picked up some skill in this sort of thing.

And besides, why shouldn't she get some fun out of it?]

Loser gets the tickets for the Ferris Wheel, yes?

[megabond]

A Much Needed Break (May 20)

[It's been a long week for Augustine ever since he and most of the other residents were returned back to their normal sizes. Thankfully for him, they changed back before the festivities, which he is relieved that the fair won't be canceled or postponed after all since this fair is supporting the Recolle Zoo and Aquarium's Animal Preservation Program very much by using the small proceedings from the auctions and some of the booths. Because of this, he then spent the last few days helping out the fair as one of the organizers while setting up the final touches for the upcoming main events.

Once the fair has started, the first thing he did was to relax on a nearby bench after a long week of work. While he still has some jobs to do as an organizer, some of his colleagues from the zoo and university convinced him to take a break once in a while as he worked very hard for the fair, especially after his several lectures and tests he gave back at the academy. Plus, he might take a little break after all of those Retrospec shenanigans he endured for the past few months by now.

Right now, he is walking around the fair while looking at some game and food booths as well with some rides around the square. Whether if you encounter or bump him or not, he'll just enjoy some company as all he wants for this weekend is some fun and relaxation.]

Pet Show Preparations

[While his organizer privileges disallow him to join a service auction (much to his relief), he is just surprised that the Pet Show didn't care if you're an organizer or volunteer. Then again, the contest is focused on their pets alone, so it might make some sense for a little while.

But on the bright side, now that some of his neighbors and the residents were aware of his dragon's existence (thanks to Recolle's strange phenomenon), he hopes that entering Modeste into the Pet Show might not only give her some exposure, but he hopes that most of the residents see her gentle heart under her ferocious and scary appearance as he rubs her snout to soothe her nerves while giving some of his macaroons to the dragon.

But considering that there's a real-life dragon that looks like a shark and a dinosaur entering the Pet Show, most of the participants and some guests who are helping them may see this sight as completely abnormal. Yet, Augustine remained oblivious to their feelings until he notices some of them staring at Modeste.]

Pet Show Time

[Once he is called up to the stage, Augustine walks onto the stage with Modeste by his side. While he didn't teach any kind of tricks to her like any normal pet would do, he did witness something amazing from her from during his time when he was shrunk back then.

So once they are on stage, he notices the watermelon was placed on table nearby before he turns his attention to the audience.]

Hello, everyone! Tonight, I would like you to meet an interesting friend of mine. Say hello, Modeste.

[Of course, his dragon does her own version of saying "hello" as she roars into the sky, which causes some of the audience staring at it in awe while some are startled by her roar.]

Don't worry, everyone. While Modeste may look... aggressive, she's actually very kind to other and she doesn't hurt any humans. But even though I didn't teach her any tricks just yet, she did learn something after we met.

[To prove his point, he takes the watermelon from the table and tosses it in the air. And without any hesitation, Modeste leaps off from the stage and starts using her claws to slash the melon several times, creating several slices in the process. And once she lands, she catches most of the slices with Augustine helping her and gives some of them to the audience while her owner strokes her shoulder as her reward.]

Great job, Modeste. And I hope you enjoy that little gift from us. Thank you.

Of All of Mishaps

[Of course, having to experienced any animal hijinks from his time at the shelter and his intern days means he has a high chance he will encounter any animal-related chaos and the pet show is one of them all thanks to a mishap that a young kid made from the petting zoo.

This time, though, his dragon ends up helping him rounding up the runaway Chocobos and unfortunately, her fearsome appearance scared most of the Chocobos away from her. Sure, Augustine would try to store her inside his Poke Ball once more, but not only it mean a disqualification for his pet disappearing, but the fact that there is a chance Modeste will refuse to go back just to help him.

However, despite his attempts to help the other volunteers and Modeste, he, unfortunately, ends up in the wrong end of the beak as the Chocobos is busy pecking both of his head and hair. Regardless of your situation, you can tell that Augustine and Modeste aren't had any luck with catching any runaway pets and Chocobos soon unless they get help.]

Winners Announced/Aftermath

[Well, that's another weird weekend for him. Yet, he still enjoys the festivities that the Springtime Fair has to offer, not to mention that he is happy that they earned so much money for the Preservation Program. And even though Modeste didn't win the pet show, he is still proud that she participated without any hesitation. Because of this, his dragon ends up helping him take down some of the booths as well cleaning up the mess that the guests and the Chocobos made the whole weekend.

Once they were done cleaning, he may approach some of the volunteers or some guests willing to help out on the clean-up while offering some fried chicken that he got from one of the booths.]

Crazy day, huh?

Preparations

[true_noir]

P...Professor?!?

[Ok, so the locals were starting to get used to the presence of a garchomp in their midst. Chloe, however, wasn't "blessed" with the ability to ignore the fact that a mixture of a bipedal landshark and a freaking dragon was there, staring at the professor. That... that was his entry?]

A...Are you certain that is safe? Wh...where did you find that? What is it?

ota

[skald]

a - blind basket auction
[So Tuuri, a Broke College Kid, really shouldn't be bidding on these mystery baskets... but they're so pretty, and it's for charity, and besides, she's probably just going to end up driving up the price of the basket she's bidding on instead of actually winning anything, right? Well, wrong. She's more surprised than anyone when she wins a basket, but she's not going to argue! So here she is, cheerfully digging through the basket to find out what she's won--]

Uhhhhh whoops.

[--and when she opens the cellophane, it reveals crackerjacks, reese's cups, and a host of other delicious-looking peanut items. Yeah, guess who's allergic to her entire basket? Time to approach literally anyone to try to get her money's worth...]

Hi! Hello! Would you like to trade? Or buy any of these?

b - backstage at the pet show
[Tuuri does not own a pet. Nevertheless, she is trying to sneak backstage to play with the kitties before the event. No, she didn't think this through. Yes, she looks totally guilty when she's tiptoeing around and looking over her shoulder every few seconds to see if someone's spotted her. And when an official inevitably calls her out on it, she panics, points to a person at random, and says]

Oh, we're here together! Ahahaha.

[Here she is, with the world's biggest smile, begging you to play along.]

b!

[destiny_key]

[Sora, however, absolutely owns a pet. Actually, he has several, but right now he's here with his favorite doggo, Buck, who's on a leash and sitting very patiently by Sora's feet.

And when he sees this poor girl panicking and saying they know each other, Sora grins and nods his head at the security dude. After all, he vaguely recognizes her from Retrospec, so it's not a lie, right?]

Yup, she's with me! That's fine, right?

ota!

[long_live_the_queen]

A. Obligatory Wandering (through the stands) Prompt, May 21st

[Look. Look. Lucy was outside today, and at least in range of interacting with people! Not necessarily engaging with them immediately, but out and walking.

...which was paradoxically what she shouldn't be doing right this second. Not without some crutches. Her sprained ankle hadn't started out too bad, but she kept aggravating it. By walking on it, by running, and basically everything she really shouldn't be doing. Painkillers and stubbornness were truly amazing things. Mostly painkillers.

But Lucy wasn't running now! ...she was before, but now she was being easier on her ankle, slowly meandering this way and that. Wherever a booth was, she was there on its periphery; usually just a shadow, speculatively watching. Or signing a release form to get on the rides, but hanging back before doing so (was that a stripped down teacup ride?).

Or sitting and resting her ankle, like a patient that didn't view doctor's orders like a suggested speed limit.]

B. KWEH, May 21st

[Okay, so. That promise not to run? Complete garbage. Lucy was definitely running away from that giant beak and talons that'd hopped the fence and was trotting purposefully after her.

...the chocobo probably just wanted to see if her hair was edible or not, but. Still! Beak! Claws! Lucy not apologizing for hobbling at someone!

Please help.]

wandering!

[complementing]

[Minako has not been in the best of moods since the 18th. She'd been hoping that coming to the spring fair would help perk her up a little, that seeing the hilarity of Terra auctioned off would lift her spirits a bit-- but even that hasn't done much to make her feel better. She needs a distraction, something to focus on that isn't related to her own morbid, worried thoughts.

And so she turns to carnival games.

That's where Lucy will find Minako, sleeves rolled up and her new ruby red eyes barely looking at the game in front of her even though she's smashing down every mole that pops out from its hidey hole. She's drawn a sizable crowd, in fact, both because of the silent rage behind each swing, and the small pile of toys she's collected.

She hasn't even noticed that she's about a thousand points shy of getting a top high score.]

[flowrite]

a; moral support | closed to Orion

[Fai has spent the better part of this last week feeling like an utter disaster. The memories he's regained since joining the Retrospec app have him jumping at shadows, even in his own apartment, and now he's supposed to meet with someone he's pretty sure just wants to berate him. He can't think of a single other reason why Fawkes would want to meet, to 'prevent further misunderstandings.'

Thank goodness for Orion, agreeing to accompany him to the fair. Fai fixes himself up to look as nice as he can manage, blooshot eyes notwithstanding, and texts his neighbor that he's nearly ready to go. Ten minutes later he's knocking on Orion's door.]


b; bait & switch | closed to Kaiba (and Fawkes if he feels like showing up!!)

[The appointed time comes, and Fai breaks away from Orion to go look for Fawkes by the merry-go-round. Orion certainly doesn't need to stick around to watch Fai get yelled at--especially given why he's going to get yelled at--but his neighbor is supposed to be nearby somewhere so afterward, when Fai is a stupid, nervous mess, someone will still be able to drive them home.

It won't be the first time he's been screamed at to keep the hell away from someone, but he'd kind of thought he was past this.

Fawkes doesn't appear to be here yet, so Fai leans against the side of one of the nearby booths and takes deep breaths, trying to look more put-together than he feels. And probably failing.]


c; wildcard! | open

[I've got nothing specific planned for the rest of the fair, but feel free to hit me with any ideas if you'd like to run into Fai! Early Saturday he's going to be a nervous wreck--looks like he hasn't slept in a week, looks nervous as hell. He'll be keeping close to Orion for most of that time, but you can probably catch him somewhere if you want!

After meeting Kaiba he'll look like a completely different person. Still sleep-deprived, but he'll be his usual cheery, effusive self. And sticking close to Kaiba most likely. FOR REASONS.]

[bitemefightme]

[Orion was sleeping when his phone chirped off a tune to let him know of the incoming message. With a groan and a glance at the message. His yawn quickly turns into:]

Oh, shit...

[Fai may or may not hear a hurried scuffle and a tumble into a wall as Orion invariably trips over something in his apartment, letting out a tired, but no less frustrated, Ow!

He yanks on a pair of jeans and a fairly wrinkled t-shirt, being unable to find anything else in his mess of an apartment. Not that he particularly cares. He's halfway into pulling on his socks while brushing his teeth when he hears the knock on his door. Triple shit...

Orion scrambles briefly a bit more, rinsing his mouth in the kitchen sink with what may or may not be a week-old cup, before rushing to the door, barely surviving another trip-attempt over his shoes as he grabs the door handle.]

Hi.

[He wipes the remnants of toothpaste froth off of his cheek onto the back of his hand and his hair looks like it still has yet to have a comb run through it. But he motions for Fai to come in and have a seat before he bends down to grab the shoes he almost tripped on in his path to the door.]

Sorry, I slept late. I'll be ready to go. Give me another minute or two.

Donald (Duo) Maxwell

[divine_braid]

Service Auction (first to respond is the bid winner)

Don gave a casual wave as he came up to the person who won his service this time around.

"Hey... so what is it you need?"

Food Carts

All these carnivals and fairs, and Duo's boss for Pizza Port was using the cart to the max. Mostly doing pizza rolls, spirals, sausage and pepper heroes, and zeppoles for the fresh cooked food and things like sodas, lemonade, iced tea and italian ices for refreshments and dessert, it wasn't hard to run on site.

Duo spent alternating bouts of time inside and outside the cart, switching between taking orders and payment and actually cooking.

Pet Show

Duo didn't have a pet, but he was having a good time playing with some of the show dogs during their downtime. He wanted a dog, but couldn't really have one at the moment. So, he was here enjoying what time he could get with them.

Mishap

"WOAH! LOOK OUT!" Duo pulled someone aside as one of the loose chocobos came charging through the plaza. "Whew... that was close. You okay?"